Iteso - Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs.
The Iteso believe in a divinity with different aspects, variously
called
akuj,
"high," or
edeke,
"illness." Other entities in their pantheon included the
Ajokin, little spirits of the bush, who invited people who met them to
feast, providing they kept the invitation a secret. Under missionary
influence, the Ajokin have come to be identified with the devil. Ipara,
spirits of the dead, figure prominently in their lives, but there are no
special shrines for propitiation. The Ipara are selfish and do not
enforce good behavior so much as demand propitiation. When they possess
people, the Ipara bring with them exotic spirits from other cultures who
harm or make ill the people possessed. Catholic missionaries have had
considerable influence among the Iteso, and almost all of them had been
baptized by 1990. Women are especially involved in the church. The
African priests at the missions have successfully advocated the
organization of local cooperative groups called "Christian
communities."

Religious Practitioners.
Most Iteso religious practices are either associated with transitions
in the life cycle or are ways of managing misfortune and illness. Women
are the primary religious practitioners. The performance of domestic
rituals is defined as part of their "work." In addition to
domestic ritual, women predominate in cults of spirit possession. Men
serve as diviners and healers, and some specialize in
"blocking" the effects of the spirits of the dead. In the
precolonial period, men who had been retired through the age system
acted as intermediaries between the divinity and the people.

Ceremonies.
Domestic ceremonies take place in the household and include naming
rituals, the complex rites associated with marriage and birth, and
rituals held to heal ill children. Mortuary rituals also take place
within the household and involve a series of ceremonies that invoke the
entire complex of social relations of the dead person. The rituals of
the age system took place outside the home in the "bush"
and were organized in terms of the symbolic attributes of various
animals. Domestic rituals and healing rituals such as those associated
with spirit possession draw on much the same symbolic repertoire, a good
deal of which involves the ritual dramatization of female agricultural
and child-rearing tasks.

Arts.
The plastic arts include pottery making by women and musical-instrument
making by men, some house decoration, and, traditionally, cicatrization
for women. These are all purely aesthetic and have no religious
significance. The verbal arts—which include a cycle of trickster
tales, proverbs, female storytelling, and male rhetoric—are far
more developed.

Medicine.
Iteso medical practices are derived from multiple sources and include a
range of Western medicines purchased at stores or obtained at government
clinics; locally known herbal cures; and resort to religious
practitioners, such as curers of illnesses caused by spirits of the
dead.

Death and Afterlife.
At death, the body is separated from its
eparait
(spirit), which goes to live in the bush. The spirit ideally moves
deeper and deeper into the bush, but in practice many spirits return to
bother the living. Spirits of the dead are greedy: they require
offerings of food and drink. As a result of mission influence, spirits
of the dead have come to be associated by some Iteso with the Ajokin,
little creatures of the bush, and both of these have come to be
associated with the devil. The skeletons of dead people are exhumed
after a number of years so rituals can be performed to
"cool" them and make them more kindly disposed to the
living. Older Iteso are very concerned that their children will bury
them in coffins and prevent this practice, thus suffocating the dead in
the earth. Funeral rituals are a major focus of Iteso ritual life, and
many Iteso point out that they are a primary reason for having children:
"Without children, who will sacrifice at the head of your
grave?"

User Contributions:

among other major beliefs,the iteso people had a common ritual,performed on the eve of christmas.
it involved the clearing of bushes surrounding the grave yard in a bid to appease the dead as well as making them part ofthe celebration.
pouring of libation was the seal of the practise.Although the act is slowly losing its meaning,it is still being practised in my native south teso home area of Kotur.

1. The clearing of the grave yards takes place 1st of April every year, to help dead feel comforted and cared for so that the spirits won't come back to disturb the living if left in a bushy ground.
2. The iteso also used to sacrifice first harvests to the dead, after harvest, the first fruits was always spread infronght of each grave for the dead to eat so that they wouldn't get annoyed and bring bad omen to the family. It was also used a sign of seeking for blessings from the dead for good harvest.

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